Line support and guide



.w. J. THOMPSON.

LINE SUPPORT AND GUIDE. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 26, 1920.

1,371,275, Patented Mar. 15, 1921'.

- (inventor,

WILLIAM J. THOIMPSON, OF CLYDEPARK, MONTANA.

LINE SUPPORT AND GUIDE.

Specification of Letters la'tent.

Patented Mar. 15, 1921.

Application filed February 26, 1920. Serial No. 361,442.

1 all to from it may concern Be it known that I, VILLIAM J. THOMP- sox,a citizen of the United States residing at Clydepark, in the county orTarl: and State of Montana, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Line Supports and Guides, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to harness attachments, and the primary object orthe invention is to provide an improved device for supporting andguiding the lead lines or reins of four horse teams, so as to preventthe tangling of the lines.

Heretofore considerable difficulty has been experienced in drivingdouble teams due to the fact that the lead lines or reins of the forwardteam often become tangled with the harness of the rear or wheel team. Itis therefore another object of the invention to provide means carried bythe hames of the rear or wheel team for supporting the lead lines or,reins of the forward team above and out or" the way of the harness ofthe wl eel team.

A further object of the invention is to prvide an improved line supportadjustably associated with the ball heads of the hames, so as to permitthe supports to be held in any desired position in relation to the wheelteam.

A further object of the invention is to provide a lead line supportembodying standards carrying rings for receiving the lines and having anadjustable clamp for engaging the hames.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved deviceof the above character which is durable and eilicient in use, one thatis simple and easy to manufacture, and one which can be placed upon themarket at a reasonable cost.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the following detaileddescription taken in connection with the drawings forming a part of thisspecification, in which drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved device showing the sameattached to the ball head of the hames.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same, the heme being shown in dot anddash lines.

Fig. 8 is a detail transverse section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1,and

Fig. 4 is a detail transverse section taken on the line 41 of Fig. 2.

wherein similar reference characters desig-' nate corresponding partsthroughout the several views, the letter A indicates the improved linesupport and guide, and B a hame with which the support and guide isassociated.

The home B may be of the ordinary or any preferred configuration orshape and as shown includes the ball head 5.

The improved rein guide or support A includes the standard 6 whichgradually tapers toward its upper end and is provided with a transverseaperture 7 for rotatably receiving the guide ring 8. The lower end ofthe standard 6 is provided with its opposite side faces flattened andnotched as at 9 for the reception of the inner ends otthe clampstructure 10.

The clamp structure 10 includes a resilient arm 11 which extendsforwardly from the standard 6, and is secured thereto by suitablerivets, bolts or the like 12. The. opposite side of the standard 6 hassecuredthcreto by the same bolts or rivets 12 a plate 13 to whichisslidably connected by the downturned ear 14: the resilient arm 15. Theresilient arms 15 and 11 are disposed in parallel relation to each otherand are provided with oppositely threaded transverse bores 16, whichreceive the oppositely threaded bolt 17 The central portion of the bolt17 carries the hand wheel 18, which has its periphery milled or serratedso that a firm grip may be obtained on the same. The resilient arms 11and 15 also carry nuts 19, which are secured to the arms in directalinement with the oppositely threaded bores so as to provide arelatively long bore for the oppositely turned bolt 17. The terminals ofthe arms carry the oppositely extended semispherical jaws 19 and 20,which are adapted to engage the opposite sides of the ball 5 of the hamsB.

In operation of the improved device, the arms 15 and 11 are movedoutwardly in opposite directions by turning the hand wheel 18 so as topermit the jaws 19 and 20 to be placed into engagement with the ball 5.The wheel 18 is then turned in a reverse direc tion so as to bring thejaws 19 and 20 into tight engagement with the ball which willeffectively prevent accidental movement of the standard 6.

As clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings the standard 6 may bepositioned in any relation to the hame B, as may be desired, and held insuch position by the jaws 19 and 20. If found desirable, the inner facesof the jaws may be provided with roughened inner faces so as to firmlygrip the ball 5.- After the standards 6 have been placed in position onthe hames of the wheel or rear team, the lead lines or reins of theforward team are passed through the rings 8 and then rearwardly to thedrivers seat. Thus it will be seen that the lead lines are effectivelyheld above the harness of the rear or wheel team, and thus preventedfrom becoming tangled with the harness.

From the foregoing description it can be seen that an improved means isprovided for supporting and guiding the lead lines of a four horse team,which is exceptionally simple and durable in construction.

Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit orscope of my invention; but

I claim:

1. The combination with a pair of hames, of an attachment thereforincluding a pair of standards, clamps carried by the inner ends of thestandards for detachably connecting the standards to the hames, saidclamps permitting the standards to be swung on the hames as pivots, andrings pivotally carried by the outer ends of the standards.

2. The combination with a pair of hames, of a line supporting device andspreade including a pair of standards, adjustable clamps carried by theinner ends of the standards arranged to detachably connect the standardsto the upper ends of the hames said clamps permitting the swinging ofthe supports on the hames, and rings carried b the outer terminals ofthe standards.

3. he combination with a pair of hames having ball ends, of anattachment therefor including a pair of standards, clamps carried by theinner ends of the standards, semi-spherical jaws carried by the outerterminals of the clamps arranged to engage the opposite sides of theball ends of the hames, and means for adjusting the jaws toward or awayfrom each other.

4. A line support and spreader comprising a standard, a resilient armsecured to one side of the standard, a plate secured to the oppositeside of the standard, a second resilient arm hingedly secured to theplate, semi-spherical jaws carried by the outer terminals of the armsand means for adjusting the arms toward and away from each other 5. Aline support and spreader comprising a standard, an arm secured to oneside of the standard, a plate secured to the opposite side of thestandard, an arm hingedly secured to the forward end of the plate,semi-spherical jaws secured. to the outer terminals of the arms, thearms having oppositely threaded openings formed therein, a bolt havingoppositely threaded terminals fitted in said openings, and a hand gripformed on said bolt.

VILLIAM J. THOMPSON.

